Have You Ever Noticed World of Warcraft Is Everywhere?

I went to watch The Day the Earth Stood Still on Wednesday after my final exams ended. About 20 minutes in, lo and behold. The boy Jacob Benson, who is a main supporting character in the movie, plays World of Warcraft. In one scene, he can be seen playing a human paladin killing Nagas in Stranglethorn Vale. The famous Stormwind music from the Valley of Heroes also played for several seconds in the background. I suspect WoW is in Earth as an unofficial nod to the game, especially since the phrase “Klaatu barada nikto” was referenced in the game with two characters as a nod to the original 1951 version of the film.

It’s great that there’s a lot of publicity for the game we all love, but what do other people see when they see all these cameo appearances? Most of all, what does it tell them of about the people who play the game?

I’m sure the majority of the population see these references and won’t know they are actually references to World of Warcraft or even connect the dots and realize they all reference to one thing. They’re very subtle, but even the media recognizes that people from all walks of life play this game, and they’re not afraid to acknowledge that we’ve become a phenomenon. But have we come to acknowledge our place in society? Many claim that this is an open game, yet there are scores of players who are unwilling to help new players become acquainted with the game.

Especially with the release of Wrath of the Lich King, there would be a lot of people who are interested in finding out what the game is all about. But with all the established players in Northrend, who is available in Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor to help the new players? What if those looking from the outside inward see a community full of inside jokes and cliques that make it difficult to penetrate or understand? We risk being misunderstood by society despite being acknowledged by it. The all-too-general and unfair statement made last week by an official of the Federal Communications Commission is one example.

With a growing player base, the only thing certain is that World of Warcraft won’t disappear from the headlines. It will only generate more talk, and the one thing we can do is stop people from generalizing.

Great article and I feel you may have hit on something. I agree about the attitudes of the veteran players. Gilneas is one of the original servers and there are player here that have been playing WOW since day 1. Some of these players, and for some reason on Gilneas it’s only on the horde side that I will see this, will help when they are on but the help will be limited. It has been months since I’ve had someone ask me if I wanted to help them with a quest, and most people are more intent on getting what they need done before me so the ninja kills and such.

I happened upon an Alliance rogue that was fighting multiple mobs the other day in HF so I picked up some of the extra’s to help her. She never made an effort to emote a thanks and soon afterwards she skinned one of my kills before I could skin it myself. It’s sad to see players like this in the game because as our player base grows and new people come along. This will affect their impression of what happens in the game.

In my 2+ years of playing this game, I have found that the guilds that maintain a strong casual system that try to work together like family guilds seem to be the best guilds to be in if you are not focusing on progression or PVP.

@Rilgon — Perhaps, but many people who heard it and play immediately identify it as a World of Warcraft reference. It may be a general statement, but it was popularized by the game.

@Zuluki — You also made a good point. A lot of the interaction seems to occur inside a guild, which makes it especially hard for new players. How can you find a good guild to join or even know what is a good guild if the community itself makes itself seem exclusive? Newcomers would be left wondering and asking where this talked about community interaction in the game went.

“It’s great that there’s a lot of publicity for the game we all love, but what do other people see when they see all these cameo appearances? Most of all, what does it tell them of about the people who play the game?”

I know most people who find out I play think that I sit in front of my computer like a mindless zombie randomly hitting buttons. I have made them all think twice when I pull out the math behind dps and certain armor attributes lol. I hated math until WoW.

It’s the folks like us bloggers who make people think twice that “WoW-er’s” are mindless gamers and people who are humans in a community that want to help folks! :)

It was in a ep of star Gate once – and the dude got confused and claimed he was either two races or two classes in one toon ( can’t remember which) Like a Warrior mage or something like that.. he was trying to impress Sam, and he also said he was 80 ( and this was way before news of xp new leveling cap..

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Loronar is the author of "35 Yards Out", a World of Warcraft blog focusing on Marksmanship hunters. He is one of the first bloggers to write specifically from a Marksmanship perspective and has remained dedicated to the talent tree since 2007.